Lakers camp, Oct. 29

Brown is 23 now and getting just about the perfect fresh start -- under a legendary coach with no doubt that his new team needs him. Yet with all the back stories of his immaturity and irresponsibility, you have to wonder if he'll ever get it.

Today at practice he got hacked under the basket by rookie Andrew Bynum and reacted immediately in obvious pain. Brown has already been wearing a wrap over his injured left thumb, and it was clear that Bynum's foul was bringing pain all the way into Brown's wrist.

Without a word, he waved Chris Mihm onto the floor to replace him, walking off without any wish to stay in the fray. No one seemed to pay him any heed, which might be just the kind of non-babying that Brown needs. Coach Phil Jackson went on with the scrimmage in good spirits (later upon realizing Brown couldn't take his turn in the team's practice-ending march of free throws, Jackson brightly volunteered himself: "I'll shoot for Kwame"). And Brown ducked into the training room to find Gary Vitti and get ice packed around his thumb.

I thought that Brown seemed a little too eager to get tended to ... but to his credit, he soon came back out and rejoined the team. He talked to Chip Schaefer to get more information about his injury, and Brown later gave Bynum some flak for the foul -- but it was clearly good-natured. And that was that. Brown was, in fact, professional about the situation and remained upbeat -- cracking up when Jackson made a joke at practice's end -- despite obviously suffering a setback with his health.

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